By now, you probably know thatNew York Road Runnerschangedthe courseof its premiere United Airlines NYC Half. (If you didn't, surprise!) The old course was a favorite for many, and for a half marathon in NYC, it had an elevation profile that only the Brooklyn Half could beat. Now, just about the only thing in common between this year's course and last year's is the name of the race. You may be running on some of the same terrain, but you're in for an altogether different experience. Hang on to your energy gels, ladies and gents.

After my first day of medical school in the fall of 2015, I made my way to what would soon become my second home for the next couple of years—a study space we called the Blue Room. It was ratty and rundown, with a row of desks and cubicles under dim lighting and in near-constant dead silence. At the end of my usual row of cubicles, the wall featured a poster of Steve Prefontaine racing at Hayward Field, emblazoned with one of his famous quotes: "I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it."